The Tail of Hannah Wisp
by Fadedsapphire
Summary: Two girls live in the countryside of Michigan one night they go exploring and become mermaids! They struggle with friendships, conflicts, romance, and hard choices. Can they keep their secret, but also fulfill their true potential?
1. Chapter One

Chapter 1

Hannah and Emma

This is the story of a young girl. She is not a princess or a girl of striking beauty, but a simple farm girl. She lived in the countryside out in the point of Virginia. This girl, as most of you have already guessed, is called Hannah Wisp. Hannah loved the ocean and the warmth of the sand. Though her parents never went on vacation there. When she brought up the subject of the beach, her mother would busy herself with something else and ignore her, or she would look at her and snort, "Hannah, dear why are you bringing up such a silly subject when you know very well that we are going camping this summer. You wouldn't want to miss that, and Emma will be there!" and Hannah said no more, because she knew that if she pushed the subject even a little, her mother would send her to her room or give her a chore to do. Hannah wandered off to the back porch to visit her many kittens. To her great surprise, no cat was in sight, but her favorite kitty, Chewy, poked his head out from the little house and mewled at her. Hannah tenderly picked her up and cradled the fluffy kitten in her arms. "Looks like it's just you and me, girl." Chewy looked up at her and tilted her head as if to ask, "What is it Hannah, the ocean again?" because that was all Hannah ever talked about, she ached with curiosity about what the smell of the ocean was, the soft touch of sand warming her feet. Hannah picked up her mobile and dialed her friends number, she needed someone to talk to, that would talk back. After she'd talked with Emma and agreed to meet her at the clear spring behind the old, red barn in a field near the town of Lovettsville. Hannah thought she would bring Chewy along and she would stop by the great oak tree.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When Hannah reached the oak tree near the start of the field, she leaned against it and took out the letter that she had received a few hours earlier. She thought to herself, _Should I open it? It could be anything… _Her thoughts wandered back to the ocean and to her mother. Why wasn't she allowed to go to the beach? It was the only thing she ever wanted and she couldn't have it. Every year on her birthday, she hoped her parents; at least her dad would take her there. Her dad was miles away in California. Her mom and dad split up when she was nine and she was left with just her mom. Not that she disliked her mom or anything, she just wished her dad had stayed, and maybe he could change her mom's mind about the ocean. Hannah kept sending letters to him but he never wrote her back. Hannah had nearly forgotten what her dad sounded and looked like. Her mom still had only one picture of him, which sat gathering dust in the living room. Hannah stood up straight and headed toward the spring to meet Emma. As she walked she sang a little tune and the words went like this:

I'm no ordinary girl; I'm from the deep blue underworld. Land or sea, I've got the power if I just believe. I'm no ordinary girl; I'm from the deep blue underworld. The world's my oyster, I'm the pearl. I'm no ordinary girl.

Hannah sighed inwardly. The truth was, she was just an ordinary girl, Emma was her only good friend, the one who was there even when Hannah herself wasn't there for her. Her other friends, they went to public school and they didn't have enough time for her. But Emma she could call in the wee hours of the morning and Emma was happy to talk. Emma gave her sympathy and comfort to those who she even disliked. Hannah checked herself. Emma didn't dislike anyone. She got along with most everyone. Hannah thought people are just attracted to her. Not because she was beautiful or powerful, but because she was kind and bubbly and fun loving. Hannah would always say she was compassionate. No other word described her. Hannah confessed to herself that she was a bit jealous of Emma. Emma had tons of friends and was never at a loss for words. Never red in the face when someone she barely knew spoke to her. Hannah was the complete opposite. She hated talking to people, other than Emma and her mother. And she could never make good conversation with anyone. When she played with Emma, it was mostly Emma who talked and Hannah was glad because Emma could tell a tale like no other. Hannah only really laughed when she was with Emma. By now Hannah could see Emma and the blue spring, which was fresh water. Emma, when she spotted Hannah, Waved and smiled and ran toward her. "What took you so long? Let me guess, you stopped at the oak tree?" Hannah smiled. Emma could read her like a book. "Yup. Guess what, I got a letter and it is addressed to me with no return address! Imagine that." Emma looked puzzled, "Who would send you a letter and not give their address to you?" Hannah shrugged and thought of all the people she knew. No one struck her as the sort of person that would do such a thing. Emma didn't seem to care much about the missing address, "Well, open it!" she nudged Hannah. Hannah looked at the letter, she had never seen such neat writing, and certainly it wasn't from anyone she knew. Hannah couldn't wait another minute; she tore rapidly into the envelope. Inside was a small folded piece of paper and two necklaces. On the end of the leather ropes were two red crystals. Hannah held them up for Emma to see. Emma nodded to show her interest. She took one and held it up to her eyes to get a closer look. Hannah then took the paper out, unfolded it and said, "I-it's a map." Emma leaned over to see. "Yes! This is the day I've waited for my whole life. We've got a treasure map! We're rich!" Hannah gave her a weird look and said, "I don't think this was meant for us." Emma searched along the paper and then exclaimed, "Ah ha! See." She pointed out small writing at the bottom of the paper, it read, _"To Hannah and Emma I should've told you a long time ago."_ Hannah said, "Who should've told us?" Emma shrugged, "I don't know, maybe we'll find them at the "X"." Hannah looked at the map once more and then tucked it safely away in her pocket. "I don't know if we should go to the end, it might be dangerous." Emma patted her on the back, "Come on, we'll be fine, I think I've seen that place before and it looks like it's in the middle of a field so no steep hills!" Hannah shifted uncomfortably, "Well, okay, I guess we can go, but we have to ask our parents, we'll just say we're going on a walk." Emma agreed whole heartedly. And they returned back to their houses and waited for night to fall.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hannah was in her room waiting for the full moon to rise. _How convenient, we'll have enough light to see where we're going._ She thought. Hannah opened the map and saw that the writer had made all the directions simple and clear…except for at the end. It just stopped. The rest of the map was, Go right, you'll see a large grey rock. Pass the rock and hop over the brook…ect. She just couldn't fathom any reason why anyone, whether she knew them or not, would do this, and would it be good or bad things awaiting at the X? Hannah's watch beeped. "Time to go." She said to herself. Hannah crept out of her window and down the tree. She looked back to see if anyone was looking out the window and then ran full speed across the road to the oak. Emma wasn't there yet, but Hannah knew she wouldn't miss out on something like this. And sure enough, Emma came puffing along a few minutes later. "Sorry I'm late, mom wanted to know where I was going." Hannah's stomach did a sort of flip; Hannah had never done anything like this before. She told her mom where she was going, but Hannah had felt really guilty lying to her mom. "Well, get the map out." Urged Emma. She stuck her hand into her pocket and grabbed it out. "Looks like the path actually starts here at the oak." Said Hannah. "Where to now?" Emma peered at the paper in Hannah's hand. "Uh, well it seems to lead just out into the hills… I don't know if we should follow this, we don't know what is out there, it's just tall grass as far as the eye can see." Emma shrugged, "Well, do you have another plan on how to get to the end? Because I don't." Hannah sighed and started walking, "This way." Emma skipped up to her and punched the air. "Yeah, now were talking! Let's find us some treasure." They tramped up each rolling hill and down the next until, "Emma, we're nearly there! Looks like we just have to reach the river at the base of the volcano, and then we'll get our prize." Emma sped up racing toward their goal. "Wait up Em'!" Hannah called ahead. When she slowed down, Hannah found Emma at the river standing on some large, flat rocks around a waterfall. "I don't see any treasure." Emma grumbled. "Well, did you expect it to be just lying around here for anyone to find? No, I think it would be buried somewhere around here, look around and try to spot some loose earth or a hole or something." So they searched, climbing over the rocks and leaning over the blue waters. "Anything?" called Emma. "Nope, not a thing, maybe this was a hoax." Hannah replied. Hannah looked up to the stars. _Lucky there's a full moon so we can see_. She thought. Hannah suddenly slipped and went whooshing down a dark tunnel landing hard on her back. Emma rushed over to the cave she had fallen down. "Hannah! Are you okay?" Hannah looked up to the circle of light that was Emma's flashlight. "Yeah, just a bit shaken. Come down here, it's awesome!" Emma slid down next to her and looked at her surroundings. They were in a dark cave, the walls were made out of black smooth rock and a passage on the far wall lead onward. "Where are we?" The two girls walked into the tunnel and found themselves in a glowing room. Looking up, they saw a circular hole showing moonlight and stars. In the middle of the room was a sparkling blue pool of water reflecting the full moon. "Hannah, I think we're in the volcano's summit!" Emma exclaimed. Hannah gasped, "Yes, I think you're right, I mean, where else could we be?" Emma looked thoughtfully at the water and said, "You want to get in?" Hannah gave Emma an outraged look. "No! there could be anything in there." Emma leaned over the pool, I can see the bottom, there's nothing but sand." Emma took off her shoes, "Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, this pool isn't just a pool, it leads somewhere. See how the water moves back and forth, there's a current." Hannah took off her shoes to, "Alright, I'll get in but I'm not following the current." The two girls splashed into the cool water. They dove to the bottom and back. Hannah was floating near the floor when she spotted something. Hannah reached out and grabbed it. The thing felt hard and smooth and round. The volcano was rather dark so she couldn't see what it was. Hannah kicked to the top and motioned for Emma to surface as well. "Em' look what I found." Hannah held up the object. Emma gasped, "It-it's a ring! I've never seen anything like it." The ring was a silver band much like a wedding ring, but on the top was a deep blue crystal. "Me neither. I wonder how it got here." Hannah said gazing at the ring. "Hannah, this means we aren't the only ones who know about this pool. I mean it was obvious from the map, maybe whoever sent you the map, owned this ring once!" Hannah gasped, "Do you think we'll ever meet her?" Emma looked at Hannah, "Her? How do you know it's a her?" Hannah rolled her eyes, "Duh, it's a woman's ring." Emma nodded, "Yeah, so why do you think that she lead us here?" Before Hannah had a chance to answer, the moon drifted over head. The water around them began to fizz, pop, and bubble. "What's going on?" Emma said treading water. Hannah just shook her head. Bubbled formed around both girls and swirled up out of the water toward the moon. As the light of the full moon passed, the pool became still and silent once more. "Spooky." Said Hannah. "Let's go home." Declared Emma. Hannah didn't argue, she hopped out of the water and with Emma right behind her, headed straight back to their houses.


	2. Chapter Two

**Hey readers! Sorry this chapter is kind of short and REALLY late. I will post chapters more regularly from now on :) Thank you everyone who reviewed and gave their suggestions. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Two

Secrets and Lies

When Emma woke up the next morning, she did not immediately remember the night before. But when she looked out her window to the hills, it came flooding back. _Was it real?_ She thought. The entire time Emma got ready for the day, she couldn't get the pool out of her mind. The pool glowed, and bubbled. _Well, the only way to find out is to call Hannah. _She concluded. Grabbing her phone, she dialed Hannah's number.

"Hey Em', what's up?" Came the cheerful voice of her best friend.

"Hannah, do you remember last night, the pool?" Hannah didn't say anything for a while but then,

"Yeah, why?" Emma sighed with relief,

"Good, 'cause I was afraid it was a dream. What do you think happened there?" Hannah again hesitated,

"I don't know Em' it could've been anything, and maybe it was dangerous. We shouldn't go back there. Ever." Emma pulled a face,

"What? We should go back and investigate!" Hannah groaned,

"What part of _extremely dangerous_ do you not get?" Emma was getting frustrated with Hannah,

"Well, I'm going, with or without you!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Emma climbed to the top of the hill, down to the river, and easily found the hole where they had fallen down yesterday. She slid down, ran eagerly through the passage, and came to the edge of the pool and stared at it. Nothing seemed unusual about it now, just a regular pool of water. But Emma then remembered the tidal rings, the pool lead somewhere. The only body of water close enough is lake Erie. Emma took one moment to decide, then dove into the depths. She hung there for a while in the middle of the pool, then it happened. Bubbles swarmed around her like a bees, Emma felt a strange weight appear in her legs. She tried to kick, but her legs felt stuck together, then she looked down and screamed a gargled bubbly scream. She had a tail! A scaly, blue, _mermaid_ tail. When she surfaced, Emma heard a voice,

"Emma? Are you still here?" Emma felt a rush of relief, Hannah had come after all.

"I'm here Hannah, come quick!" Emma heard quick footsteps then saw Hannah,

"Emma! What happened?" Hannah gaped at her friend's tail.

"I don't know, once I hit the water, this thing appeared." She flopped the tail around in the water, as a result, Hannah got completely soaked.

"Em'! Whoa!" The "whoa" Was because Hannah fell to the ground because she had a tail too! Her tail was green, and also covered in scales. Emma helped her into the water, where they clung to the edge of the pool.

"Emma, why has this happened?" Hannah whispered.

"I don't know. We-we're mermaids. This is impossible." Hannah smiled,

"No, this is amazing! This means we can do so much." Emma rose an eyebrow,

"Yeah? Like what? Swim? Well, I don't know about you, but that isn't to new with me." Hannah scowled,

"Well, mythology says mermaids can breathe underwater, ad swim really fast for ages and ages!" Emma smiled,

"Only if the mermaids had gills, which we don't. As for swimming really fast, these tails do seem really powerful, maybe we can." Hannah pointed to the tunnel leading out to lake Erie.

"There is one way to find out." Emma caught on at once and the two friends dove into the water and swam down the tunnel.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hannah came up from the water spluttering,

"Well, we can't breather underwater." Both girls laughed. They dove back under, and powered through the water with their fins. Emma tapped Hannah's shoulder, motioning her to surface.

"This tunnel is not filled with water all the way." Hannah said when she came up,

"Hannah, it's so dark here, I don't know if we should be here, and there could be anything in this tunnel." Hannah looked at her,

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Hannah kept swimming and Emma followed her. Soon a faint light began to glimmer in the distance and Emma pumped her tail harder. Emma burst into the open sunlit water of Lake Erie. She laughed with relief as she sucked cool air into her lungs.

"Emma, this is amazing. The best experience in my life!" Emma wasn't paying attention,

"Hannah, whoa, look behind you!" Hannah looked around. She saw an island, small green, and resting smack dab in the center a volcano loomed above the trees.

"Em' that must be where we were last night! Who knew we walked so far from shore. I think I heard this island is called Mako." Emma raised her eyebrows,

"Well, what do you expect? That passage was _so _long, my feet hurt so bad!" Hannah giggled,

"You mean your tail." Emma splashed her friend,

"Come on, race you around the island!" The girls sped off around the island, to their great surprise, they returned to their starting point very quickly.

"I didn't know we could go that fast, I was covered in bubbles I was moving so fast!" Hannah said,

"And I'm not even tired, I bet we could swim for days!" Emma looked back at shore,

"Are you going to tell your parents about this?" Hannah looked shocked,

"No way! They would keep us away from all water, I'd never see anyone or anywhere again." She paused,

"Are _you_ going to tell your family?" Emma shook her head,

"We had better get back, our parents will be wondering where we are." They swam back to shore and ran home.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hannah, where have you been?" Oh snap. Mother noticed I was gone. Of course she did. Hannah thought as she stopped on her way up the stairs.

"Uh, out with Emma, we just went for a walk around town." Gosh, this was the first time Hannah had had to lie to her mother for ages. Her mom came to the foot of the stairs, gazing up at her daughter.

"Hannah, did you forget, you have lifeguard duty at the pool today, if you don't hurry you'll be late."

Hannah grumbled under her breathe, "Well, if you would get me a phone, I wouldn't be late for anything, ever in my life!" Unfortunately her mom heard,

"Hannah, if you wouldn't go off to who knows where all the time, then you wouldn't be late for anything ever in your life." Hannah huffed up the stairs muttering about phones, being late, and forgetfulness. Hannah reached her room and grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair up. She changed into her swim suit and a pair of shorts. Hannah placed her sunglasses on her head and walked out the door. When she arrived at the public pool nearby, her fellow lifeguards welcomed her.

"Hey Hannah, just in time for your shift." Said her friend Jennifer.

"Hi Jen, has it been a busy day?" Jen shook her head,

"Nope, very few people today, we had that annoying dog next door barking for half an hour, and most of the people left." Jen sighed,

"I have to go talk to the lady who owns the dog and all that jazz." Jen left and Hannah climbed up onto the chair high above the pool. _Hopefully this chair is high enough off the ground to not get splashed. _Hannah looked down at the shimmering waters and gulped. One drop of water and she was doomed. The morning went fairly smoothly and the sun rose high into the air. Hannah's shift was nearly over when a small girl climbed up onto the diving board. She looked only about four or five years old.

"Angela, don't go up there, you can't swim!" Her mother called from a lounge, but the little girl raced along the board and leapt into the water. She floundered at the top for a second and then began to sink beneath the surface. Hannah's heart pounded hard, if she saved the girl, her secret was out, if she didn't save her, the girl would die. Hannah threw aside her glasses and pulled off her whistle. Not daring to waste a second, she jumped off her chair and into the water.

"Save her!" cried the distressed mother. Ten…nine…eight...Almost there. Hannah thought. Seven…six…five…she grabbed the girl and pushed off from the ground. Four…three…two… she climbed out of the water and sprinted for the bathroom. One…zero…Hannah slammed the door and fell onto the floor. Her tail flopped around on the concrete.

"Hannah, why did you run off like that?" Jen's voice rang through the door

"Hannah! Why is this door locked?" Hannah pulled herself toward the paper towels. Her hand stretched out to grab the towel, but she missed and her wrist twisted and hit the floor.

"What the" A gust of hot steam rose from the damp ground, Hannah looked at her hands.

"Did I do that?" She made the same wacky movement with her hand and another cloud of steam appeared. Hannah raised her arm over her tail and twisted her hand around. Steam began gushing from beneath her scales. As the mist cleared away Hannah looked down to see her legs, not a tail on the floor.

"Yes!" Hannah cried leaping up. She rushed out of the bathroom and returned her whistle to the front desk.

"I'm done for the day! Bye everyone." She hopped on her bike and rode away. Instead of going home, Hannah rode down the lane to Emma's house. Hannah looked up at Emma's open window and shouted,

"Em'! Come down here fast!" Emma's face appeared in the window. Emma nodded and raced down to the yard.

"What is it?" Questioned Hannah's friend.

"Watch this." Hannah held out her hand and twisted her wrist a small puddle in the grass began to bubble and boil. Emma gazed at it, amazed.

"Cool! This mermaid thing gets weirder and weirder by the minute." Emma furrowed her brow and did a bunch of random movements with her hands. Finally giving up, she turned to Hannah.

"This is not fair!" She stamped her foot, "Why can't I boil water too?" Hannah shrugged

"I'm just glad I could save that poor girls life." She said.

"Our lives are going to be so much harder now. I can't even imagine what school is going to be like. We will have to hide from, like, 200 kids! And most of them are super nosy." The girls looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm not going to worry about that now, come one, race you to Mako!" They sprinted away across the field and to the shore.

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**So yeah, the first few chapters are going to be a bit slow, but the plot really unfolds in the next chapters! Please review!**


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